Swansea 0 Man City 4

Ibra helped United win the Europa League but missed the final through injury

He wanted to be sure he would be strong enough to play at the highest level again but having worked hard on his rehabilitation he has earmarked United’s home game with Spurs on October 28th to make his return.

Ibrahimovic told ESPN how his shirt swap with Romelu Lukaku came about.

He said: “Lukaku called me and said ‘bro can I get the No 9 shirt?’.

“I said ‘I’m not on that level that I will make it difficult for you, I just want you to feel happy and feel welcome. So I give you the number 9. But I will take the number 10’.

“That’s the way we do it. So I never left, I just upgraded my number.”

Jose Mourinho is delighted to add him to his arsenal of attacking talent having landed Romelu Lukaku this summer.

Mourinho said: “We are delighted Zlatan is on the road to recovery and we are equally delighted to have his ambition and experience back with us.

“After his contribution last season he deserves our trust and we will be patient waiting for him to return. I have no doubt that he will be important in the second part of the season.”